1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an arbitration-type call establishing system, a method, and a storage medium, for arbitrating the connecting conditions for each of the system users and establishing a voice call between parties who have satisfied the conditions.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional exchange, a system is known which determines whether a given voice speech call (hereinafter called also the voice communication call) is to be connected or not, and connects only the voice calls which are permitted. As an example of such a system, take an important telephone terminal (hereinafter called the VIP terminal). The voice calls that can reach the particular VIP terminal are limited to those from specific parties but, on the other hand, transmission may reach any party from the VIP terminal. As another example only a specific extension can be connected to the office line in a private branch exchange but other extensions cannot be connected to the office line.
The conventional voice call establishing system described above, however, does not necessarily reflect the intention of each party to be connected. From the viewpoint of the receiver, for example, a voice call from a person (calling party) with which the connection is not desired, reaches the receiver, or from the viewpoint of the transmitter, a voice call reaches the wrong person (called party).
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an arbitration-type call establishing system in which a voice call can be connected while arbitrating between the intentions of the two parties in such a manner as to accurately reflect the intention of the users to be connected.
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention.
In order to solve the problem described above, according to the present invention, there is provided an arbitration-type call establishing system including a plurality of user systems each having a data communication function and a voice speech function, and a connection control system connected to the user systems through a data network and a voice communication network, the user systems each comprising means for transmitting, to the connection control system through the data network, outgoing conditions for defining parties to which connection requests are to be given and incoming conditions for defining parties from which connection requests are to be permitted, and the connection control system comprising a reception processing unit for receiving the outgoing conditions and the incoming conditions from the user systems, an information holding unit for holding for each user, user information constituting personal information of the user, and arbitration conditions including the outgoing conditions and the incoming conditions received by the reception processing unit, an arbitration processing unit for arbitrating between a combination of the users satisfying the arbitration conditions with reference to the user information, and a connection execution unit for forming, through the voice communication network, a voice communication call between the user systems of the users established as a result of the arbitration in the arbitration processing unit.
In this arbitration-type call establishing system, the arbitration processing unit of the connection control system arbitrates between a combination of users satisfying the arbitration conditions while referring to the user information in accordance with the outgoing conditions and the incoming conditions registered by the user, and the connection execution unit forms, through the voice communication network, a voice communication call between the user systems of the users established as a result of the arbitration.
This reception processing unit can be configured to have information updating means for updating the user information or the arbitration conditions information held in the information holding unit based on changed control information input from the user systems through the data network.
As a result, in the case where the arbitration fails under the arbitration conditions set in advance, for example, the users can modify the particular arbitration conditions.
In the arbitration-type call establishing system described above, the user systems each include means for transmitting a reference request indicating the outgoing conditions to the connection control system, displaying means for displaying the user information of one or more condition-satisfying users notified from the connection control system in response to the reference request, and selecting means for selecting the desired other party from among the condition-satisfying users displayed and notifying the connection control system of the selected party through the data network. The connection control system includes searching means for searching for a user satisfying the outgoing conditions in response to a reference request from the transmitting user systems based on the user information of the information holding unit, and notification means for notifying, through the data network, the transmitting user system of the user information of the condition-satisfying users searched for by the searching means. The arbitration processing unit can be configured in such a manner that the arbitration process is possible with the condition-satisfying users selected and notified by the transmitting user system.
As a result, the transmitting user can acquire and check the user information of the users satisfying the outgoing conditions registered by the transmitting user and thus can select the other party to speak with. The connection control system arbitrates with the selected other party, and the reference to the user information eliminates the case in which a voice call is established with the other party with which a conversation is not required. In this way, the arbitration is accomplished very efficiently.
The selecting means described above can be configured to transmit to the connection control system a voice communication call establishing request for establishing a voice communication call with a desired party in the condition-satisfying users notified.
As a result, the connection control system can immediately arbitrate in the possibility, on the part of the transmitting user, of establishing a voice communication call with the desired other party.
As an alternative, the selecting means described above can be configured in such a manner that if there is any party or parties with which conversation is desired in the condition-satisfying users notified, an inquiry request is transmitted to the connection control system for permission of establishing a voice communication call with the desired other party (parties).
In this way, the transmitting user can make an inquiry to a plurality of other parties, at one time, as to whether they are willing to speak with the transmitting user.
Also, the arbitration processing unit described above can be configured to arbitrate in the advisability of establishing a voice communication call with reference to the incoming conditions of the condition-satisfying users based on the select information of the condition-satisfying users selected as the other parties by the transmitting user system.
As a result, the case of arbitration in which the incoming conditions set by the other party fail to be met, is eliminated.
Alternatively, the arbitration processing unit described above can be configured in such a manner that only the users satisfying the incoming conditions are searched for by the searching means as condition-satisfying users with reference to the incoming conditions of the users, and the transmitting user system is notified.
As a result, at the time of searching for the condition-satisfying users, the other parties whose incoming conditions fail to coincide with the personal information of the transmitting user are removed from the category of the condition-satisfying users in advance, and therefore the arbitration can be performed efficiently.
As another alternative, the arbitration processing unit described above can be configured in such a manner that, in response to the notification of the selected information of the condition-satisfying users from the transmitting user system, an inquiry is made for permission to connect to the selected condition-satisfying users and an arbitration is conducted only with the users who have answered xe2x80x9cacceptablexe2x80x9d.
As a result, arbitration is avoided with the other parties who are not willing to permit conversation with the transmitting user.
As still another alternative, the arbitration processing unit can be configured in such a manner that in the inquiry for permission of connection, the user information of the transmitting user is submitted to the selected condition-satisfying users.
As a result, the other parties can select whether to speak with a transmitting user by referring to the personal information of the transmitting user. As
As a further alternative, the arbitration processing unit can be configured in such a manner that in making an inquiry for permission of connection, the user information of the transmitting user is submitted only to the users confirmed to be willing to respond among the selected condition-satisfying users.
As a result, the personal information of the transmitting user can be submitted only to the other parties willing to respond.
As a still further alternative, the arbitration processing unit can be configured in such a manner that in making an inquiry for permission to connect, the willingness to respond of the selected condition-satisfying users is notified to the transmitting user and the user information of the transmitting user is transmitted by the transmitting user only to the selected ones of the condition-satisfying users willing to respond.
As a result, the situation can be avoided in which the voice call fails to be established for a given called party in spite of the permission given for accepting the speech by referring to the personal information of the transmitting user.
As still another alternative, the arbitration processing unit can be configured to select the users of whom the arbitration conditions coincide with those of the transmitting user when the information of the information holding unit is updated periodically or arbitrarily in compliance with the request of the transmitting user who has registered the outgoing conditions.
As a result, even in the case where there is no called party satisfying the arbitration conditions when the outgoing conditions are registered by the transmitting user, the other party can be selected who subsequently participates in the arbitration-type call establishing system and meets the arbitration conditions or who changes the arbitration conditions.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there an arbitration-type call establishing method is provided.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage medium for storing a program for executing the arbitration-type call establishing method.